Chapter 13

13

L averna, Roberto, and Claudius had spent the morning trying to pinpoint areas around the city where the witches had been seen and where children had been reported missing. So far, she had not only identified Canidia but also her old coven members, Sagana and Veia.

Should have killed all of them instead of letting them go. The witches had left Rome and hadn't returned until now. It made Laverna worry about what had brought them back. Was it this creature they had that caused them to now think that they were invincible?

They had been making good progress on mapping the area when Romulus had woken up, and all of Laverna's concentration had vanished at the sight of him all bare-chested and sleep-ruffled. It had only gotten worse when he had turned around, and she saw the state of his back.

"Are you two okay?" Claudius asked once Romulus had disappeared down towards the baths.

"You mean compared to usual? Sure. We had a big night of spell-breaking and whatnot," Laverna replied with a flippant hand wave. She turned to Roberto, who had looked curiously between her and Romulus's disheveled state. "Can I get you to go down to the kitchens and get us some pasta or something? He's going to be starving by the time he finishes that bath. Hecate said that kind of spell ravages your energy."

Roberto nodded and then grinned cheekily at her. "By the state of his back, it looks like his energy was just fine."

Laverna wasn't going to be baited. "He passed out on a mosaic floor, which was foolish, but he was too heavy to move. I'm sure his back will recover."

"Whatever you say, boss," Roberto replied and headed out the doors.

Claudius waited until they were alone before he said softly, "I told you not to hurt him."

"I haven't hurt him. At least, not in a way that wasn't consensual," she said. She might have been able to play naive with Roberto, but Claudius was a wolf and would've smelled sex all over Romulus. "It was nothing. Just a heat-of-the-moment thing. It doesn't change anything."

Claudius ran a hand through his brown curls. "Maybe not for you. It's none of my business. If you two won't stop being oblivious, then I'm not going to be the one to spell it out for you."

"So glad we clarified it is none of your business," Laverna deadpanned. "Pick a place for you and the wolves to search tonight. I'm going to make more coffee."

Laverna went through a door and into her kitchen. She usually ate in the mess halls, so it only held snacks and essentials that she couldn't live without. She ground fresh beans and tried not to think about waking up on Romulus. She had gone from warm, sleepy happiness to blinding panic in ten seconds flat.

Would he come to his senses and regret what they had done? Would he wake up and be full of his old scorn? Laverna hadn't wanted to wait around to find out. She didn't regret it, and it had been consensual despite all the magic in the air. They would just have to ignore that it had happened, and things would be normal.

Romulus hadn't seemed mad when he came out of the temple room. He had looked sleepy and fuckable. Laverna shook the image from her brain. She would treat him like she did every other one-night stand. It would all be fine. So super and completely fine. Fuck.

Laverna put the ground beans into the espresso machine and took down fresh cups. Her body ached in a way that reminded her she'd had rough sex the night before, but she purposely ignored it.

They had witches to find, and Laverna and the wolves would be hunting that night. They had only been waiting for Romulus's final say on some of the plans. Claudius had called their contacts in the Carabinieri and sent out alerts, looking for any sighting of Canidia and her coven. They would continue to tighten the noose in the hope the witches would fuck up big enough, and they would have no choice but to reveal themselves. It was good to have Romulus's men and contacts help, but working with any kind of police made Laverna itchy. Her feelings weren't what was important; finding the missing kids was.

Laverna had seen Canidia's victims before. She knew what they were currently going through and the state they would find them in. Children had been taken from family outings at the archaeological park that stretched from the Colosseum to the Capitoline Museums. It could have been chosen purely for convenience's sake because it was always chaotic with visitors, and it was a maze of walkways between ancient structures. Lots of places for children to get lost and for kidnappers to hide in.

She had chosen to investigate there that night with some of her eyes on the street. They would take a look at Romulus's men and take off in the other direction. They had all been soldiers at one point, and it showed. Soldiers were too close to cops.

Laverna was so deep in thought, she didn't hear the kitchen door open or anyone come in until Romulus appeared, a bulk of warmth and power behind her. To her credit, she didn't squeak in surprise like a frightened mouse before a hungry wolf. She took a deep breath and glanced over her shoulder. He was in jeans and a T-shirt again, and she wished he didn't fill them out quite so well. When he wasn't in a suit, it made him seem like less of a douchebag, and the fact that he could be one was something that was dangerous for her to forget.

"Coffee?" she asked, trying to brush over her uneasy thoughts.

"Please," he replied. He was looking at her a little too intensely, and she wished that she had put on something more than a pair of old tights with a hole in the back of the knee. "Thank you for helping me last night. I don't want to think about what state I would have been in without you."

"You're welcome." Laverna filled a cup with steaming espresso and passed it to him. "I think that's the first time you've ever thanked me for anything, Romulus."

"I'm pretty sure it was the first time you helped me out of a problem and not created one for me. What happened to calling me Rom?" he replied with a frown. "I thought getting you to scream it for me last night meant we would be past the formalities."

Laverna's cheeks heated, and she returned to the machine to fix her cup. "Ah huh, you thought that, did you?"

"Really, Laverna? Are you going to pretend it never happened?" he demanded, sounding almost...hurt.

Laverna sipped her scalding coffee before turning back to face him. "I'm not pretending it never happened. I'm acting like it wasn't a big deal because it was nothing, and we have bigger things to worry about."

Romulus's glare was now truly spectacular. She would never figure out how his brain worked. What the hell was his problem?

"So it was what? A pity fuck because you felt sorry for me?" he demanded.

Laverna's brows shot up. "Firstly, I don't feel sorry for anyone who gets a chance to fuck me. Secondly, what is your fucking problem now? I'm trying to act like an adult about this, and you're acting like I just punched you in the nuts instead."

"Infuriating woman," he growled, stepping forward so she was pushed up against the counter. "It wasn't nothing , and I don't want you pretending otherwise." He leaned down until they were almost eye level, and her lips tingled in anticipation of a kiss. His breath was hot against them as he whispered, "Tell me you don't want to do it again."

Laverna's heart thrummed so loudly he could probably hear it. She couldn't lie to him by saying no, because she very much wanted to do it again. She just couldn't hold out hope that he would want her after whatever madness was currently gripping him had passed. He had been different around her for weeks, but that didn't mean he couldn't switch back to being a mean asshole and rip her heart to shreds. She didn't have that much heart left to risk it.

"We should get back to work," she said, her voice far too breathy.

"You can pretend as much as you like, goddess." Romulus tugged the collar of her shirt down to reveal the suck bruises he had left on her shoulders and chest. His eyes gleamed gold with wolf. "Those don't lie. My marks. Mine ."

Laverna knocked his hand away. "Careful not to get too possessive there, Rom. I'm not about to put up with that shit from anyone, least of all you. I'm not going to become part of your pack or surrender to you, show my belly, or whatever the fuck your other submissive bitches are into."

Romulus only smiled and leaned in so his leg pressed between hers. Laverna bit back a whimper. He ran his cheek along hers and whispered in her ear. "Yes, you will, and you will love every single minute of what happens afterward." Then he was gone, leaving her still leaning against the counter for the support.

Laverna steadied her knees and reached into a cabinet where she kept a bottle of whiskey. She poured some into her coffee and took a large mouthful. She had no idea what to do with any of that, but she was starting to get a horrible feeling that Romulus really had lost his fucking mind.